or Special Flight Officer Candidate.[28]
Part Four
Since the Kamikaze attacks were to be made only if the pilots had volunteered, and
could not be "commanded," there were two methods to collect volunteers. One was for
all pilots in general, and another was for the Special Flight Officer Probationary Cadet
(College graduates) only. The former was an application form, and the latter was a
survey. The survey asked: "Do you desire earnestly/wish/do not wish/to be involved in
the Kamikaze attacks?" They had to circle one of the three choices, or leave the paper
blank. The important fact is that the pilots were required to sign their names.[29] When
the military had the absolute power, and the whole atmosphere of Japan expected men
to die for the country, there was great psychological pressure to circle "earnestly
desire" or "wish." The Army selected those who had circled "earnestly desire." The
reason that the Special Flight Officer Probationary Cadet had to answer such a survey
rather than send the applications at their own will was probably because the military
had known that the students who had come from college had a wider vision, and would
not easily apply for such a mission. For the regular application, the Army was confident
that there would be many young pilots who would apply. They were correct. Every
student of the 15th term of the Youth Pilot Training School had applied. Because there
were so many volunteers, the military had decided to let the ones with better grades go
first.[30]
There are several factors which made so many young pilots volunteer for such a
mission. Extreme patriotism must have been one factor for sure. Added to that, there
was the reverence for the Emperor, a god. Some say that it was generally believed that
if one died for the emperor, and was praised in Yasukuni Shrine, they would become
happy forever.[31]
The effect of the brainwashing that the military had done to the students is surprising.
The pilots felt it was "obvious" that they were to take part in the Kamikaze attacks.
Most pilots mention in letters that they were happy, and proud of being given such an
honorable mission. It is true also that they believed that if they took part in the mission,
it might improve the war situation for Japan.[32]
What the military education was like was described in a diary kept by Corporal Yukio
Araki, from the time he had entered the Youth Pilot Training School, until the night
before his original date of departure for Okinawa.
Since anything written was checked by one of the military staff, nothing that would
upset the military or contradict the ideas of the Japanese government could be written.
However, more importantly, because of the lack of privacy, personal emotions could
not be written. Therefore, in Corporal Araki's diary, very rarely can anything "personal"
be found. The first several days in the Training school, he simply lists the subjects that
were studied that day, and what was done for physical training. Later on he mentions
what was done for training, the events that took place, and other things he had done.
However, most of what he wrote was about the "warning" he received.[33] The
following are some of the "warnings" he had received:
There is an attitude problem when listening to the officers.[34]
Some students seem to smile or laugh during training, and others are being
lazy...In general there seems to be a lack of spirit.[35]
Straighten yourself. It reveals your spirit.[36]
The education emphasized the mind, spirit and attitude. Neatness and cleanliness were
also frequently mentioned. Usually, a hard slap in the face accompanied these warnings.
The way the 15-year- old boy responded to the warning was: "I must try harder."[37]
One of the listed subjects in the diary was a course called "Spiritual Moral Lecture,"
nearly every other day. What exactly was taught in the course is not mentioned.
However it seemed that in some of these courses, great military figures who died for
Japan were mentioned.[38] It is a certainty that this course was one factor in making
the pilots feel "happy and proud" to be involved in the Kamikaze attacks.
The military education was quickly absorbed by these young pilots-to-be. It was in
October 1943 that the young boy had entered the Training School. By the next
February, he had written a short poem saying that a Japanese man should be praised
when he dies as he should for the Emperor.[39]
The amount of time students spent in the Youth Pilot Training School was reduced from
three years to less than two years for the 15th term students. Therefore, the schedule
was tight and tough.[40] There was almost no holiday at all, and many of the planned
holidays were canceled.[41] What Corporal Araki called a "holiday" was very much
different from what is normally considered a holiday. An example of his holiday started
with some sort of ceremony, followed by listening and learning new songs (probably of
war), and watching a movie. Something related to the military was taught even on days
called "holidays."[42] Therefore, they were given no time to "think." There was
something to do almost every minute that they were awake, and they were taught what
the right spirit was. By not giving them time to think, they had no time to evaluate what
they were being taught. They just absorbed it, and as a result, by the time they
graduated, they were brainwashed.
Corporal Araki had an older brother and three younger brothers. In his will to his
parents, he mentioned that he wished two of his younger brothers to also enter the
military; one should enter the Navy and become an officer, the other to enter the Army
and also become an officer. He also mentions that he wishes that his brothers follow his
path (and be involved in the Kamikaze attacks).[43]
Mr. S. Araki, Corporal Araki's older brother, mentioned that his brother had greatly
changed after entering the military school. He remembers that his brother's attitude
towards him was not casual, and it was not like he was talking to a brother. He felt that
he had really grown up since he had seen him last, both physically and
psychologically.[44]
There are three references in which Corporal Araki's thoughts towards the mission may
be found: his will, last letters, and his diary. In his will to his parents, and to his brother,
he mentions that he has no nostalgic sentiments. In his will addressed to his brother, he
mentions that he would like him to consider the mission as piety. In a postcard sent on
the day of his mission, he calls the mission, "an honorable mission," and that he is
looking forward to see them again at Yasukuni Shrine.[45] It was in the end of March
1945, that Corporal Araki's unit's mission was ordered to take place.[46] From just
before then, Corporal Araki had not written in his diary. After an entry on March 16,
there were no entries for two months. He wrote, because he was busy, there was no
time to write.[47] Could that be true? Indeed, his squadron was on a tight schedule for
March. From the 25th, they returned from P'yongyang to Gifu prefecture.[48]
However, Sergeant Kazuo Arai had been able to keep a diary at the time.[49] It may
be because of strong personal emotions he just could not keep the diary. Or, it may be
that he could care no longer about keeping a diary. In either case the fact that he had
not written an entry on the day that the mission was officially ordered, when he had
written every other special event down, reveals that he was no longer in the state of
mind that he had been.
The planned date of the mission of the 72nd Shinbu squadron (which was the squadron
to which Corporal Araki belonged) was initially, May 21, 1945. However, because of
rainy weather, it was postponed to May 27, 1945. In his last diary entry on May 20,
1945, he wrote:[50]
...at ** o'clock I received the thankful command to depart tomorrow. I
am deeply emotional, and just hope to sink one (American battleship).
Already, hundreds of visitors had visited us. Cheerfully singing the last
season of farewell.[51]
and is cut off there. His handwriting however was very stable, and was not as if he was
losing control. If for some reason he had to leave the diary for a while, why did he not
go back to it? Was it that he had become extremely emotional that he could no longer
write? In any case, he never returned to his diary.
Part Five
In reading the last letters of the Kamikaze pilots, there are generally two types. One,
the "Typical" letters and the other, the "Unique" letters. Most of the typical letters were
written by graduates of military schools such as the Youth Pilot Training School. The
"Unique" ones were written by the Special Flight Officer Probationary Cadets--the
graduates from college. The first two of the following five pilots have written a typical
letter, and the other three have written unique letters.
Corporal Masato Hisanaga of the 72nd Shinbu Squadron was twenty years old. In his
letter, he thanked his parents for the years that he was alive, and reported to them how
he had been doing, and informed them of the kindness of the people where he had
been. After asking his parents to say "Hi" to various people, he says that he will take
revenge for his older brother (who, as it appears, must have been killed in the war) by
sinking the enemy's battleship and killing its soldiers. He too asks that his younger
brothers follow their brother (himself). "All of the (Japanese) population is the
tokkotai." He too mentioned, "I have no nostalgic sentiments."[52]
Corporal Shinji Ozeki, 19 years old wrote a will to his mother saying:[53]
As a man I will courageously go. Now, I have no special nostalgic
sentiments. However, I will go regretting that although being born a man, I
have not had filial piety.
To give this young self for the protection of the imperial nation, I believe is
piety.
I hope that you will forgive my sin of being undutiful and that you will live
in happiness.[54]
This is similar to what Corporal Araki and Hisanaga had mentioned. All reveal their
thoughts towards their parents. They believed their dying was piety, which shows that
they were doing it for their family. All had mentioned having no nostalgic sentiments
possibly to make their parents feel easier. Because these are "Typical" letters, many
others had written just as they had.
The unique ones written by the college graduates included more personal feelings. For
example, Second Lieutenant Shigeyuki Suzuki wrote:[55]
People say that our feeling is of resignation, but that does not know at all
how we feel, and think of us as a fish about to be cooked.
Young blood does flow in us.
There are persons we love, we think of, and many unforgettable
memories. However, with those, we cannot win the war.
To let this beautiful Japan keep growing, to be released from the wicked
hands of the Americans and British, and to build a 'freed Asia' was our
goal from the Gakuto Shutsujin year before last; yet nothing has changed.
The great day that we can directly be in contact with the battle is our day
of happiness and at the same time, the memorial of our death...[56]
Second Lieutenant Ryoji Uehara, a graduate of Keio University was 22 years old. His
ideas were "radical" for the time, and if known by the Kenpeitai, he would not have
been left alone.[57] In a note, he wrote to a journalist just before his mission that he
was greatly honored to be chosen as a Kamikaze pilot.[58 ]Yet he also wrote, thinking
logically with the skills he had gained in college. He believed in democracy. He believed
that the victory of democracy was obvious, and although fascism would make the
country appear to be prosperous temporarily, only decline would wait for it. He
mentioned the fact that Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany had been defeated, and that the
power of "Freedom" will appear in history. He says that if his ideas were correct, it
Страницы: 1, 2, 3
|